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Vettel applauds 'phenomenal' Hamilton lap

29 June 2013 – Reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel has heaped praise on Lewis Hamilton for delivering a "phenomenal" flying lap during Saturday afternoon’s shootout qualifying phase at Silverstone, admitting that the Mercedes driver was out of reach.

In another session dominated by the Silver Arrows, Vettel had to settle for third on the grid, just ahead of team-mate Mark Webber and six tenths adrift of the ultimate pace. But the German insists he is happy with the result and lauded Hamilton's efforts.

"I’m honestly very happy today," Vettel explained during the post-qualifying press conference. "I don’t know if Lewis found a shortcut or he has something special around here. It was a phenomenal lap. He was not in reach for us today."

While admitting that tomorrow should present a better opportunity for Red Bull, Vettel refused to rule out Mercedes demonstrating significant race day progress.

"I think P3 was our maximum today but for tomorrow who knows, they are also getting better," said Vettel, before referring to the recent test-gate scandal involving Pirelli and Mercedes: "It helps the more time we spend on the tyres. Let's leave it there."

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